Tuesday, August 18, 2020

New Music Releases: Skii Harvey, Dave Baker & Rich Kurtz, Nat Birchall

Skii Harvey - So Cruel 

Sometimes we just need to allow a song to break our hearts and make us cry. When you listen to Skii Harvey sing “So Cruel” – the lead single from her upcoming album Broken - the award-winning Australian artist’s sultry and seductive, yet world-weary and grit-filled voice may remind you of everyone from Cher and Melissa Etheridge to Tina Turner and Ella Fitzgerald. But a deeper dive into her emotion reveals a true original inviting us into the dark places of the soul - where regret and longing to change reality linger long after a love’s gone wrong. On the forthcoming album,  the songsmith takes on the resilience of the human heart, no matter the challenge, we always endure. ~ smoothjazz.com 

Dave Baker & Rich Kurtz - Forever New 

Twenty-five years after making his initial mark on Smooth Jazz stations across the globe, guitarist Dave Baker brings back his fluid melodic magic and love for contemporary and traditional jazz, pop, classical and Latin on his perfectly titled album FOREVER NEW. Teaming with Rich Kurtz (bass, cello, vocals) and Walter Runge (keys), he draws on decades as a private party and corporate gig musician to create lush, inventively arranged yet breezily accessible twists on classics by the likes of Carole King, Al Stewart, Sting, The Beach Boys and The Beatles. His lone original, the lilting title track, is equally divine. ~ smoothjazz.com  

Nat Birchall - Mysticism Of Sound 

One of the most unusual albums we've ever heard from saxophonist Nat Birchall – and that's saying a lot, given the very unusual qualities of most of his work! Yet this set is very special in that it's a solo effort – music by just Nat himself, but never on one instrument at a time – as he works in his own studio to create these tunes that have a strongly spiritual vibe, especially for music from one individual – with a tenor or soprano sax solo often in the lead, amidst other instrumentation that includes bass, drums, percussion, bells, and bass clarinet – plus a bit of work on a Korg minilogue! If you're worried about the album sounding gimmicky, or lacking the depth of some of Birchall's other recordings – don't – because the whole thing is as rich and soulful as all the other kinds of records that have made us love Nat so much over the years. Titles include "Dance Of The Sun God", "Omniscient Beings", "Outer Realm", "Space Time Vortex", "Celestial Spheres", "Cosmic Visitant", and "Inner Pathway".  ~ dustygroove.com 



No comments:

Post a Comment